Temperature and Precipitation Maps

Temperature Anomalies Time Series

Contents of this Section:

Global Highlights

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for July 2014 was the fourth highest on record for July, at 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average of 15.8°C (60.4°F).

The global land surface temperature was 0.74°C (1.33°F) above the 20th century average of 14.3°C (57.8°F), marking the 10th warmest July on record.

For the ocean, the July global sea surface temperature was 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F), tying with 2009 as the warmest July on record.

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–July period (year-to-date) was 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20th century average of 13.8°C (56.9°F), tying with 2002 as the third warmest such period on record.

Supplemental Information

Introduction

Temperature anomalies and percentiles are shown on the gridded maps below. The anomaly map on the left is a product of a merged land surface temperature (Global Historical Climatology Network, GHCN) and sea surface temperature (ERSST.v3b) anomaly analysis developed by Smith et al. (2008). Temperature anomalies for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged to form the global analysis. For more information, please visit NCDC's Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page. The percentile maps on the right provide additional information by placing the temperature anomaly observed for a specific place and time period into historical perspective, showing how the most current month, season or year compares with the past.

Temperatures

In the atmosphere, 500-millibar height pressure anomalies correlate well with temperatures at the Earth's surface. The average position of the upper-level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure—depicted by positive and negative 500-millibar height anomalies on the July 2014 map—is generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively.

July

The average temperature across the world's land and ocean surfaces during July 2014 was 0.64°C (1.15°F) above the 20th century average, the fourth highest for July on record. The record warmest July occurred in 1998, with a temperature that was 0.73°C (1.31°F) higher than average. Eight of the 10 warmest Julys have occurred within the past 10 years (2002 also ranks among the 10 warmest). Additionally, July 2014 marked the 38th consecutive July and 353rd consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for July was July 1976 and the last below-average global temperature for any month was February 1985. With the exception of February (21st warmest), each month during 2014 to date has ranked among the four warmest compared to its respective month.

The global land surface temperature was the 10th highest for July in the 135-year period of record, but also the coolest since 2009, at 0.74°C (1.33°F) higher than the 20th century average. Nine of the 10 warmest July land surface temperatures have occurred during the 21st century. The highest July temperature occurred in 1998. As shown by the gridded Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles map above, record warmth was particularly prevalent across parts of northern Europe and a swath of northwestern Africa. Overall, 32 countries across every continent except Antarctica had at least one station reporting a record high temperature for July. The United States and the Russian Federation each had several stations that reported record warm temperatures as well as several stations with record cold temperatures for the month. No other countries had stations that reported a record cold July temperature. The period of record varies by station.

Select national information is highlighted below. (Please note that different countries report anomalies with respect to different base periods. The information provided here is based directly upon these data.):

The July temperature for Norway was 4.3°C (7.7°F) above the 1961–1990 average, the record highest for July since national records began in 1900. This also marks Norway's all-time highest monthly temperature for any month, breaking the previous record (set in July 1925 and July 1937) by a full degree Celsius. According to Meteorologisk institutt, much of central Norway was 6–7°C (11–13°F) warmer than average.

In Denmark, July 2014 tied with 1994 as the second warmest July in the country's 141-year period of record, behind only July 2006, at 3.9°C (7.0°F) higher than the 1961–1990 average. The average temperature surpassed 21.0°C (69.8°F) in some areas, so high that a new color had to be added to the monthly temperature map to accommodate the high temperature, according to DMI. Two heat waves, one lasting from July 17 to 30, contributed to the anomalously high temperatures. The country as a whole set a new record for number of summer days (defined as temperature surpassing 25°C / 77°F), at 15.5 days, compared with an average of 2.6 days.

Sweden also observed temperatures well above average for July. Western Norrland had its highest July temperature on record, breaking the previous record set in 2003. Many regions near the Norwegian border broke their monthly temperature records by more than 1°C (1.8°F) and nearly all areas were at least 3°C (5.4°F) higher than the 1961–1990 average.

The United Kingdom observed a July temperature that was 1.2°C (2.2°F) higher than the 1981–2010 average, tying with 1933 as the eighth warmest July in the 115-year period of record. Every month in 2014 to date has been warmer than average, according to the UK Met Office.

The temperature for Germany in July was 1.3°C (2.3°F) higher than the 1981–2010 average. This marks the country's eighth warmest July since national records began in 1881 and the second consecutive year the July temperature has ranked among the ten highest on record for the month. The greatest warmth was experienced in the northeast.

The average temperature for July across Australia was above the 1961–1990 average for the month (+0.29°C / 0.52°F) and was also above average for every state and territory. The July maximum temperature was higher than average while the July minimum temperature was lower than average. Tasmania had its fifth highest maximum July temperature on record, while New South Wales had its seventh highest. No states had minimum temperatures among their 10 lowest. Records date back to 1910.

In the U.S., several states in the West had a July temperature among their 10 warmest, while in the Midwest, Indiana and Arkansas each had their coolest July in the 120-year period of record. The Arkansas average temperature was 4.6°F (2.6°F) below the 20th century average, beating the previous record cold July that occurred in 1967.

The average temperature for July across the world's ocean surfaces was 0.59°C (1.06°F) higher than the 20th century average, tying with 2009 as the warmest on record for the month. This is shy of the record warmest temperature departure set the previous month, but still tied with June 1998, October 2003, July 2009, and May 2014 as the second highest all-time monthly ocean temperature departure from average on record. Much warmer than average and record warm temperatures were prevalent in every major ocean basin, particularly notable across parts of the Arctic Seas between Greenland and northern Europe, the southern Indian Ocean, and the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. Neither El Niño nor La Niña conditions were present across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during July 2014. Temperature departures from average in this region, a major indicator of the conditions, cooled slightly compared with the previous month. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center estimates that there is about a 65 percent chance that El Niño conditions will develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall and early winter.

Global surface temperature stats are not currently available for July 2014.

Year-to-date (January–July)

The first seven months of 2014 (January–July) tied with 2002 as the third warmest such period on record across the world's land and ocean surfaces, at 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20th century average. The average global sea surface temperature was the third highest for January–July in the 135-year period of record, behind 1998 (highest) and 2010 (second highest), with much of the northeastern Pacific, large sections of the western South Atlantic and western North Atlantic, and much of the western equatorial Pacific record warm. A small region off the southern coast of South America was record cold.

The average land surface temperature was the sixth highest for January–July. Record warmth for the period was observed in northern and western Europe, parts of western North America, and sections of Far East Russia, southeastern Australia, and the eastern Black Sea region. Record cold was observed in the Lake Superior region of North America.

Global surface temperature stats are not currently available for July 2014.

Precipitation

July

The maps below represent precipitation percent of normal (left) and precipitation percentiles (right) based on the GHCN dataset of land surface stations using a base period of 1961–1990. As is typical, precipitation anomalies during July 2014 varied significantly around the world, with many areas seeing either much below-average or much above-average precipitation. Extreme wetness was observed during July over several regions, including parts of southeastern Europe. Extreme dryness was scattered across different parts of the globe, including part of the central U.S. and various regions in South America, Africa, and Eurasia.

Some national precipitation information is highlighted below

The Southwest Monsoon began in early June over India. For the period June 1 to July 30, rainfall for the country as a whole was 91 percent of the 1951–2000 average. Central India received 117 percent of normal rainfall, while the East and Northeast region received just 59 percent of average. The Southwest Monsoon season typically ends around the end of September.

Averaged across the continent, Australia received 68 percent of its normal July rainfall, placing this month in the bottom quartile for total July precipitation. The departure from average is in comparison with the 1961–1990 average and records date back to 1910.

France had its wettest July since national records began in 1959, receiving double the 1981–2010 average and surpassing the previous record set in 2000. It was also record wet across the adjacent western half of Switzerland, according to MeteoSwiss.

Excess rainfall accompanied the warmth in Germany during July. Precipitation was 150 percent of the 1981–2010 average (163 percent of the earlier 1961–1990 average), marking the 10th wettest July in Germany's 134-year period of record.

Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for July 2014, published online August 2014, retrieved on August 2, 2015 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201407.